And Then There Were Four
by Scott Summers
Summary: COMPLETED (Chapter 11: Full CircleEpilogue posted) The story about the five original X-Men living in a CyclopsEmma Frost-run X-Men comes, as the final chapter suggests, full circle. COMPLETED Thanks for the great reviews!
1. Default Chapter

> _Disclaimer_: I don't own any of these characters yet—Marvel does. This takes place in the waaaaaaay current events of X-Men: ReLoad... hope you enjoy, please read and review. :D  
  
** And Then There Were Four**  
  
"It's harder than I thought it would be, I'll admit that."  
  
"It wasn't necessarily designed to be easy, Scott."  
  
"Hank's right... I mean, why do you think Professor Xavier was bald?"  
  
"With a student like you, Drake?"  
  
"...you're payin', right Warren?"  
  
There were five original X-Men once.  
  
Years ago – five very different teenagers; different from those around them; different from those they'd recently met at a very special "private" school.  
  
Scott Summers, Henry McCoy, Robert Drake, Warren Worthington, and...  
  
"Jean," Scott Summers began in a low tone, "should be here. When was the last time the four of us were actually together?"  
  
A quiet fell over their small table like a fog – it seemed at the very mention of Jean Grey-Summers, the now-deceased X-Man known as Phoenix, the entire restaurant had stopped to pay their respects.  
  
The nervous eyes of the other three men gazed at one another until Henry McCoy, the large and bulbous Beast, spoke up. "Ages, in the least. She would definitely enjoy herself right now."  
  
"She loved these little gatherings more than any of us, I think," Warren continued, somewhat of a dark tone in his words. "She always used to say it was the unspoken X-Rule... for the five of us to get together at least once a month. I'll never forget her speeches... 'I love Betsy, Warren... I do... but unless you've worn a ridiculous blue skull-cap and clunky blue and gold gear... you really don't need to be at this one dinner.'"  
  
The Angel forced a chuckle as another silence fell over the table, finally broken by their waitress. "Refills, gents?"  
  
"Yes, thank you," Hank replied. "Wat—"  
  
"Water, I know... an' two more just like it with a Mountain Dew," she smiled. The short waitress stared at their glasses for a moment before the necessary liquids climbed their way back to the top.  
  
"You'd think that wouldn't make me uneasy," Scott said as she walked away. "It's definitely a changing world."  
  
"How else could a man with wings, another composed entirely of ice, and Belle's beau—blue dye included—eat lunch in broad daylight?" Hank smiled.  
  
"District X... isn't that what they're calling it?" Warren asked.  
  
Iceman nodded. "Bishop works here on the side."  
  
Scott stared out of his glasses through the window into a ruby quartz- tinted world. "Didn't Betsy come anyway, Warren?"  
  
The group smiled as a whole and Worthington nodded. "That was definitely... interesting."  
  
"Jean's redheaded temper was indeed a beautiful thing," Hank smiled even bigger. "I'll never forget the first time a patch of blue hair floated past her in the pool."  
  
"Of course it didn't help that I'd also frozen the water around her," Bobby grinned devilishly.  
  
"I think you almost laughed, Bobby."  
  
Drake's face narrowed at his blue friend's comment. "Not that again," he thought. He'd heard enough about his mood swings since turning permanently, though he didn't like to use the word, into ice.  
  
"How _are_ you doing, Bobby?" Scott asked, concern in his voice.  
  
"I'm fine. Sage has ran a thousand tests, and so has Hank," he motioned to his longtime friend. "No one freaked out like this when Hank did his 360, when Gambit started buyin' more decks of cards to charge, or when that witch of yours started turning into a diamond."  
  
The mood quickly dropped.  
  
"I... uh... er," Hank tried to change the subject, failing miserably.  
  
"Emma has made several attempts to better her relationship with you, Bobby," Cyclops threatened. "You're the one who refuses to grow up and accept that people change. And I meant _emotionally_."  
  
"Let the witch mess with _your_ mind and your body for awhile, Scott... see how well you accept her then." Bobby paused, Warren and Hank watching desperately.  
  
"Drake—" Warren attempted, but he was too late. He knew where this was going.  
  
"..but wait," Bobby began again, "I suppose you know exactly what it's like to have her mess with you. I mean, now that Jean's gone."  
  
A flare shot out of Scott's glasses.  
  
"I know I could go for dessert," Hank said nervously.  
  
"If you have something further to say, Iceman," Scott said in a serious tone, "I suggest you say it right now."  
  
"Well, there's the joke that is my team of X-Men... the one your brother is leading? Not that putting his ex-fiancée on his team isn't smart – she didn't just try to kill him a few months ago..."  
  
"Bobby, please..."  
  
"What, Hank? I'm just saying what everyone else has been thinking. It hasn't been a month since Jean died, and..."  
  
"Actually, Iceman," Cyclops stood, "it's been a month and a half."  
  
"Scott, sit down..."  
  
The now co-headmaster of the Xavier Institute flashed a look to Warren Worthington. "No one is forcing you to stay at the Institute – any of you, for that matter. Without Emma there wouldn't even _be_ another mansion."  
  
"Which obviously gives you every reason to sleep with her," Iceman challenged, standing as well. The two men, two of the original X-Men, stared at one another from opposite sides of table 39 in the small District X diner.  
  
They'd faced hundreds, maybe thousands, or threats in their years as X-Men... worked together for years...  
  
Scott used to argue with Bobby about his antics and practical jokes – about freezing drinks, freezing dinner, whatever it may have been during that particular moment.  
  
This was different.  
  
They were different.  
  
"Scott Summers, Robert Drake. Sit. Down."  
  
Neither man dared to question Hank McCoy's tone, reluctantly (if only for their pride) sitting back down.  
  
"While none of us... agree... with Scott's, er, fornication..." The Beast grimaced, Cyclops instantly gazing in the other direction, "it isn't our place to judge.  
  
Scott, we're your friends and we love you. We'll always love you."  
  
Warren perked up, having been silent for some time. "And we'll always love Jean."  
  
"And I won't?"  
  
"Could'a fooled me," Bobby mumbled, a flare shooting from Scott's glasses once more.  
  
"You don't honestly think Jean would be happy with this."  
  
"Betsy would've loved your relationship with Paige, Warren."  
  
"I wasn't married to Betsy, nor were we together when she was _killed_," Worthington growled. "And Emma is a far cry from _Paige_."  
  
"I didn't come here to be attacked by my so-called friends," Scott stood once more, throwing a ten on the table. "You're _my_ X-Men, and if that's all you want us to be, so be it. But membership is still optional."  
  
The first X-Man left and Hank McCoy simply sighed.  
  
"Oh dear."

* * *

> Scott Summers settled into his usual spot, the grass conforming around his body. His hands laced together behind his head, he looked above with a blank expression on his face.  
  
"Everyone is back," he said. "Ororo's finally returned with her... well, whatever that team was calling themselves, and even managed to bring Rachel with her.  
  
I remember Nathan telling me that he'd rescued Rachel from ... something ... a year or two ago – and that she was going to go to college. Apparently she had to be rescued again.  
  
She won't even look at me.  
  
Lord knows that most of them, even if they are looking at me, aren't looking at me the same. I just don't know how to explain myself to them. I don't know that I should have to.  
  
I'm not the same boy that first led the X-Men against Magneto all those years ago, blue and gold strapped across my chest. I'm not the same boy everyone knew would eventually replace Charles – even if I wasn't given a choice.  
  
I'm just ... not the same.  
  
I don't really know why I'm doing some of the things that I am... maybe it's just because I can."  
  
_"Scott, dear, I don't know why you're there... but if it's all the same to you, training schedules also apply to team leaders."_  
  
"I'm on my way, Emma," he said aloud.  
  
Hesitating a moment, he looked to his left... reading the words etched in stone, words that meant more and more by the passing day.  
  
SHE WILL RISE AGAIN.  
  
"I miss you."


	2. The Hunt, Pt 1

* * *

**And Then There Were Four, Ch. 2:**

**The Hunt, Pt. 1**

(Read and review, please... it's _you_ that keeps me writing!)

* * *

> Wolverine's eyes narrowed as he watched Scott Summers walk away. He had spent years alongside the X-Men's leader, working under – and more times than not, around him.  
  
He'd learned to respect the man – Scott Summers deserved that. Although he hated to admit it (most of the time), Cyclops had led the ol' Canuck out of many a mess. But if one thing could tear the two men apart... if there had been one thing to separate the two heroes... it would be love.  
  
Love for Jean Grey, Scott's recently deceased wife.  
  
The X-Man known as Phoenix... perhaps the only woman Logan could _truly_ remember loving.  
  
SHE WILL RISE AGAIN.  
  
"Just words, Jeannie?" The 'feral' X-Man said aloud to himself, finishing off his glare in Scott's direction. "I remember you, up'n the space shuttle... Magneto thought he had us, and he almost did... but you saved us.  
  
The Phoenix saved us.  
  
I just don't get it, girl... why did it have to happen this way?"  
  
Logan paused.  
  
His mind drifted to thoughts of a dying woman – stripped down, just as he, on Asteroid M heading for the sun. "_Logan_," she'd gasped, looking into his eyes.  
  
Oh, her eyes.  
  
They'd spoken volumes – the shades of green reaching straight into Wolverine's soul... the soul few others had ever taken time to ever lend an ear to.

> Everything about Jean Grey had always been different... most people would tell you that. But Logan could always vouch for the fact... she'd always given him her all, even when he deserved nothing. Her touch had been comforting, her words healing, her voice soothing. She'd pulled him back from places he knew as having no return.   
  
**He loved her. **And now? More than ever.
> 
> His eyes darted to what he feared most of all to be an empty promise:  
  
SHE WILL RISE AGAIN.  
  
They were only four words – four simple words. He'd never really put such meaning into such a thing, but he'd _killed_ her on Asteroid M. It was one of the hardest things the man had ever knowingly done... but he'd killed her only for her to be resurrected in flame before his very eyes.  
  
His eyes that had seen countless heroes fall – some at his hands. Eyes that had fought in World War II – that had watched the adamantium in his skeleton pouring from his bones ... that had seen the stars and faced the end of the world.
> 
> Eyes that had known so much, and yet so little. Eyes that yearned for her... just as his heart did. His eyes, his heart_, _told him that she would return again... that she would once more save him.  
  
That she would rise again. She had to.
> 
> "Maybe if I think it enough, huh?"   
  
The Phoenix would rise from the ashes... the ashes of death caused by Magneto.  
  
His thoughts turned to those of rage. Magneto, the madman that Professor Xavier – Professor Charles Xavier, founder and forefather of all that is X, went to Genosha to pay homage to.  
  
Logan had left him there – without a second thought.  
  
Trying to calm himself down, Logan's thoughts returned to Cyclops. "We got into it real good the other day, front of the students and all," Wolverine grinned... and as if Jean were giving him one of her "play nice with Scottie" looks, he stopped. "I know what you'd say... I've heard it a million times. At least.  
  
It's just... if you could see the way it is without you...Jean, I don't know if I can—"  
  
_"Logan, stop it."_  
  
The X-Man known as Wolverine froze.  
  
"...Jean?"


	3. The Hunt, Pt 2

> * * *
> 
> **And Then There Were Four Ch. 3:**
> 
> **The Hunt, Pt. II
> 
> * * *
> 
> **
> 
> Wolverine's heightened senses, for a lack of better terminology, were going nuts. He'd visited Jean's grave countless times – looked to the words imprinted upon her headstone until his vision was blurred – but he'd never _heard_ her.  
  
"Jeannie...?" He gasped. Everything within him told the X-Man he was talking to Jean Grey(-Summers... but those were details), the woman he loved. "Jeannie, is it really you?"  
  
He couldn't believe it.  
  
"_Logan, why are you here?_"  
  
"It's the ... the closest thing t'you I've got now, I suppose," he grunted, his eyes looking around frantically.  
  
"_You can't see me_," the voice called. "_I'm not really here. Logan, I need your help... I need you to go the mansion... something's gone horribly wrong, you need to go to the other X-Men_..."  
  
"Jean... how is this – what is – what's wrong, darlin'? I'll do whatever you need me to..."  
  
"_**GET TO TRAINING, Wolverine**_," the voice beckoned – only this time, it wasn't Jean's... this time, his senses were sharpened... this time...  
  
It was Emma Frost.
> 
> * * *
> 
> "Emma?" Cyclops turned. "You called me here to practice... do you plan on joining us?"  
  
A grinning Frost turned, "Of course, dear... just having a little fun playing with the dogs."  
  
Confused, Summers simply turned to Hank McCoy and Kitty Pryde – Beast and Shadowcat. Together the group made up the team Scott led on the field.  
  
"You look uncomfortable, Kitty," Hank said in a near whisper. "Don't tell me you're still having a hard time with this."  
  
"I just don't know," Kitty sighed, and – to change the subject, "...where's Logan?"  
  
"He should be along," The White Queen answered for Hank. "Now then – I've pre-programmed the Danger Room for our practice. _Go_."  
  
At the sound of Emma's command, the room shifted into a dark and abandoned complex.  
  
"Lively," Hank grinned, taking a step closer to Cyclops. "Quite a scene earlier in District X, old friend."  
  
Cyclops sighed. "I'm sorry, Hank... I should've kept my cool with Bobby. I don't really know what's gotten into me lately."
> 
> "As you can see," Emma began, stopping short as the doors to the team's left slid open.  
  
**_SNIKT_**.  
  
The group watched as Wolverine stormed in, claws at the ready -- but he hadn't come alone.  
  
"End sequence," the X-Man known as Storm commanded – and there are few who would question her command. Ororo Munroe sent out a glare, "You have quite the nerve, Frost."  
  
"Storm, what's--?"  
  
"Outta the way, Cyke," Wolverine shoved past him... finally stopping before Emma. "I never really gave you much trouble, Missy, but you better believe I'm more than willin' to now."  
  
"And busting in on my lover and myself isn't considered an invasion of one's privacy?" Frost hissed. "I was simply returning the favor."  
  
"What's going on?" Cyclops belted, stepping between Wolverine and the White Queen, who were now face to face. He separated the two by an arm's length, looking back and forth for an explanation. "I want answers. Now."  
  
"As if you and Logan are the only ones allowed to fight, Cyclops?" Storm said in a harsh tone, stepping in front of Logan... more so to calm him down. "I managed to ease his temper on the way here, Scott – do not make that in vain."  
  
"You want answers, Summers?" Wolverine asked.
> 
> "Ask your bitch."  
  
Kitty Pryde chuckled aloud as Emma fumed, breaking the silence that had followed Wolverine's comment. She quickly cleared her throat. "This is ridiculous."  
  
"In normal circumstances, Kitty," Storm agreed, "but not in this." Ororo Munroe stiffened, glaring at Emma Frost. The two women had quite the history, and Storm had rarely called her friend.  
  
Though the woman capable of weaving weather hated to admit it, her love for Jean – her best friend – was far stronger than any feeble liking she'd recently developed for Emma. She often believed her actions and feelings towards Frost were simply out of respect for Jean, but this was different. She'd grabbed Logan on his way to confront Frost – heard his story to sway his rage – and found that it had simply been transferred to her.  
  
Had she been waiting for the right moment for confrontation? Perhaps... and perhaps not. But this was it.  
  
"If you're going to be an X-Man," Storm threatened, "_act_ like it."  
  
"Perhaps we should reexamine our positions," the White Queen countered, "and recall who is Headmistress and who is _not_."  
  
Lightning shot in small increments from Munroe's eyes. The room was still and silent.  
  
Wolverine, who'd stepped back next to Kitty Pryde, whispered. "She came here t'fight my battle for me's how it looks."  
  
"We all have something to say to her," Shadowcat replied.  
  
"Then perhaps you should say it, one and all!" Frost shouted, looking past Storm to Pryde. "No?  
  
Then you should return to your Greenhouse, Storm... and take your pet with you. Practice is cancelled."  
  
"Emma—" Scott began, but she cut him off.  
  
"**Cancelled**."  
  
"Way ta handle your woman, Summers," Wolverine shot at Cyclops as he and Kitty walked out, Shadowcat pulling Storm from her stance at the White Queen.  
  
"We shall finish this another time, Emma."  
  
"Counting on it," the now diamond-hard Frost returned the threat.  
  
Hank hesitated, looking to Scott and Emma – now the only other two in the room.  
  
"What was that about?"
> 
> * * *
> 
> The doors slid behind Shadowcat, Wolverine, and Storm. "I feel like maybe I should say thanks, 'Ro," Logan said weakly.  
  
Storm managed to smile, still breathing quite heavily. "And I," she gasped, "to Kitty."  
  
"Trying to save her from Logan here was admirable, Ororo," Kitty smiled, "but who would save her from you if not me?"  
  
The three smiled.  
  
"Dinner?"


	4. Dreams

> * * *
> 
> **And Then There Were Four**
> 
> **Chapter Four: Dreams**
> 
> * * *
> 
> "Absolutely _ridiculous_!" Emma Frost shouted as she slammed her office door behind her. "I am never going to be Jean Grey, nor do I wish to be!"  
  
Cyclops stiffened as he stood beside her, finally placing his hands upon her shoulders. Emma could taste his thoughts of Jean – and it only fueled her rage.
> 
> * * *
> 
> "Personally," Kitty Pryde smiled as she pushed open the door to the small diner in District X, "I'd like to see you take her down."  
  
Ororo Munroe smiled in return. "Thank you for the faith, Kitten... but Emma is a very formidable foe."  
  
"Foe this," Wolverine muttered. "You could take her, darlin'... 'n it's better you than me."  
  
"_**Sir**_," a waitress said in passing, "youcan'tsmokeinhere!"  
  
Logan rolled his eyes, opened the door, and tossed his bad habit into the street – just in time for a large man in a brown trench coat to look down at his boot, now adorned with a cigar. "Not very considerate, Logan."  
  
Bishop smiled.  
  
"—perhaps make it four, then?" Storm smiled to the waitress before her as Wolverine and Bishop walked to she and Kitty.  
  
"I'd like that."
> 
> * * *
> 
> "_Oh Scott_," Emma said telepathically as she pulled her lips from his, "_you_ **do** _know how to make a girl feel better_."  
  
Frost moved to the desk, sweepings its contents off with her mind. They carefully rearranged themselves on nearby surfaces. "I'm long overdue for my evaluation, Headmaster... I don't suppose you're available?"  
  
Cyclops hesitated yet again.  
  
"Available?" He forced a smile.
> 
> * * *
> 
> "I do have non available," the hostess informed. "And since you've got a local celebrity with ya," she grinned at Bishop, "I'm gonna set'cha up real nice... forget waitin'. Follow me."  
  
Storm, Wolverine, Shadowcat, and Bishop followed the hostess to their table – the very same table four of the five original X-Men had recently sat in, though not to their knowledge.  
  
"As if it weren't enough to be a part of the X.S.E., Lucas," Storm teased, "you have to work down here as well?"  
  
"I like to think of it as a side job working for the same goal," Bishop explained. "Besides, down here I'm really my own boss... you should see who leads the X.S.E."  
  
The four shared a small chuckle, followed by Shadowcat's question. "Is it working out, Bishop?"  
  
"Everything I do as an X-Man is rewarding," he began, "but you don't have to travel across the globe to make a difference. What this place needs is justice—and as a former cop, as an X-Man, I can help make that difference."  
  
"So that's a yes?" Wolverine poked. "Who do you have to f—?"  
  
"Watch yer tongue," a short little lady commanded. "I wouldn't want to kick you out for language."  
  
"Hello Ruby," Bishop smiled.  
  
"Hello Officer," she replied. "I didn't know you had friends."  
  
"He pays us pretty well," Kitty chimed in. "Can I have a water, please?"  
  
"Sure thing," she replied. "..and for the rest of you?"  
  
'The same," Storm spoke, followed by Logan who requested a beer.  
  
"You'll take the usual, Bish'?" Ruby asked—and after receiving a nod, four glasses appeared in front of the X-Men and filled with their necessary drinks. "I'll be back in a bit – look over the menu an' enjoy the drinks."  
  
"Funny how I can drink an' not smoke," Logan grunted, pulling the mug to his face.  
  
"Funny how a woman such as Emma Frost is in charge of the Institute," Storm commented. Her thoughts had really never left Frost.  
  
"Something happen, Storm?" Bishop asked, looking to his friends.  
  
"Ain't a need, Bishop," Wolverine replied. "Ain't a need."  
  
"The White Queen entered Logan's mind whilst masquerading as Jean," Storm fumed, "as if it weren't bad enough for she and Scott to parade around as if Jean had never existed in the first place."  
  
Lucas Bishop arched an eyebrow. "I was actually speaking to Rachel about this earlier... I don't know her very well, but she seems to be so... troubled."  
  
"She's been through more than most of us," Shadowcat said simply. "And that's really saying something."  
  
Wolverine and Storm nodded.  
  
"I'd never really considered how she was taking it... I'd never really considered the fact that she was their _daughter_."  
  
"It's a long story, Bish', that's fer sure. The Summers line is longer'n most that I know. Which is somethin' _else_ I don't really understand."  
  
"I know people can change... I mean, look at our ranks from even a few years ago – the people I wouldn't even consider not trusting." Kitty took a drink and continued, "Gambit? Rogue, even? Warren's even gone a little crazy before."  
  
"I know that each of us has come quite far," Storm agreed. "Some, however, leave much to be desired."  
  
"You're right," Kitty sighed. "I can play basketball with the **_Juggernaut_** – but I can't trust that woman."  
  
"Some rats stay rats, Kitty."  
  
"Yes, Logan," Ororo grinned.  
  
"Even under the most expensive scalpels and finest surgeons."
> 
> * * *
> 
> "Shirt up, Jean Paul," Annie – perhaps the finest (human) nurse the Xavier Institute had ever seen, teased. "I'm aiming to pull you over to the dark side."  
  
"Why, Annie," the X-Man – or simply put, teacher – teased right back, "what of Alex?"  
  
"He's busy leading a team of X-Men – of which Northstar isn't a part... so I don't feel too bad." The woman chuckled.  
  
"Homophobia is a sickening thing." The two shared another laugh. "Perhaps our love will convince them that I'm straight and in need of an 'X' buckle?" The former Alpha Flight member tapped on his belt. "Maybe Bobby could put it on for me, eh?"  
  
"Dirty!" Annie smacked him. "Now hold still... I need to make sure you have a beating heart and check your pulse."  
  
"Speaking of," Northstar leaned in, ignoring her rule, "how do you feel about this Jean Grey business?"  
  
Annie smacked him again. "I shouldn't be surprised that pulse would be your seg into that poor woman, Jean Paul... but _honestly_."  
  
"You're right... you're right. I didn't know Jean very well, but we'd talked and worked together on occasion... against Magneto once, ironically. She was the first to turn me on to becoming an X-Man."  
  
"I had no idea. She seemed like a wonderful woman."  
  
"I certainly hope Cyclops is the less faithful brother," Northstar teased yet again. "Especially with Ms. Dane on Alex's squad."  
  
Annie hesitated. "Maybe I should check about that 'X' buckle for you."
> 
> * * *
> 
> The front door to the mansion slid open amidst laughter.  
  
"Peter was never the same," Kitty said while wiping a tear from her eye. The four X-Men – Wolverine, Storm, Shadowcat, and Bishop – shared a sigh. "That was great, guys... we should do it more often.  
  
Y'know... when we're not busy saving the world or gossiping about a certain White Witch. G'night guys."  
  
Shadowcat turned, walking through the wall on her left. After taking the Phase Express, she found herself in her room.  
  
Turning the light on, she found her roommate lying on the floor. Kitty's heart sunk, but she quickly reminded herself that this was exactly why she'd requested her roommate. The mansion was obviously sized—especially now—for each X-Man to have their own room.  
  
Rachel Summers – who now went by Rachel Grey – looked up to her longtime friend. The woman who had seen and conquered persecution and death, who had been power personified, who had danced through the time stream, looked to her through her tears.  
  
"The dreams won't stop."


	5. Open Your Eyes

* * *

**And Then There Were Four**

**Chapter 5: Open Your Eyes**

**(please r/r -- I've said it before, but you keep me going!)******

* * *

> Scott Summers held his eyes closed as he pulled the visor from his face.  
  
"_Open them, Scott – everything will be fine._"  
  
"Jean... I can't..."  
  
"_Trust me_."  
  
Summers sighed, quickly grabbing his ruby quartz sunglasses and strapping them on.  
  
"It does not do well to dwell on dreams," a familiar voice called, "and forget to live." Henry McCoy smiled as he walked to his friend, standing at the end of the balcony overlooking the school grounds. "Albus Dumbledore."  
  
"Hank, I don't need the quotes." Summers sighed again, "I just need to be left alone."  
  
"Ahh, to talk to Jean.  
  
You know, Scott... others may believe that you've 'fallen from grace' – or perhaps that you have no real interest in anyone other than the esteemed Ms. Frost – but I know you far better than that."  
  
"Hank..."  
  
"You feel her. Even now. And do you know why, my old friend?"  
  
Cyclops stared at him. He'd never wanted to see less of the Beast.  
  
"She's here."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"To look fate and circumstance in the eye and ignore it is far worse than mere foolishness, Scott. To look Rachel Summers – or Grey, as she now prefers, in the eye and ignore her? You ignore more than Rachel, Slim. You ignore Jean."  
  
Hesitantly, Summers replied. "I understand where you're coming from, Hank. I do. But it isn't like Jean and I raised Rachel – listened to her first word, gave her a quarter for her first tooth, _anything_."  
  
"Look at her, Scott Summers. Look her in the eye, look into _Jean's_ eyes, and tell me you don't see your **wife**." McCoy paused.  
  
"Or have you forgotten what that word means?"
> 
> * * *
> 
> "Oh Rachel," Kitty Pryde said as she held her friend on the ground.  
  
Rachel Grey thanked her friend with a smile and pulled herself up. She wiped the tears from her face before falling backward into her bed. "I'm sorry. I need to compose myself."  
  
"Rach', if there's anyone here that you don't have to be strong in front of, it's me."  
  
"I know. I just... it isn't like I haven't had my fair share of nightmares before. You probably remember some of them."  
  
Kitty's thoughts raced – the truth was that she did. Dreams about murdered parents – of being the only surviving X-Man, clinging to the corpse of Charles Xavier – of hunting down mutants, mutants that Rachel loved, simply to kill them. Shadowcat turned her thoughts to the present, weary that Rachel might know what she was thinking about. She wanted to help her friend, not further her troubles.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
After a moment, Rachel spoke. "It's Jean, Kitty. It's my _mother_."  
  
"What about her?" Kitty asked, rising herself before joining Rachel on her bed.  
  
"These dreams... it's like... I'm dying with her. I can feel this – surge – of energy, ripping through my body... literally tearing it apart. I can feel my last breath... I can feel all of it."

* * *

"Looks like she's still up," Scott Summers said to himself as he approached Rachel's quarters.

* * *

"...And I say, 'Scott... my best friend. All I've ever done is die on you.' And then it flashes, and I'm somewhere else... and I smile, Kitty. I smile and I tell Scott..." Rachel paused at the sound of a knock.  
  
"Rachel? Rachel, it's Cyclops... can I come in?"  
  
Kitty looked to the door, puzzled, then back to Rachel.  
  
The door opened after Grey's confirmation, revealing the man the two had just been talking about. "I was just going to leave a note."  
  
"You know us," Kitty began, "just up having girl talk and trying to figure out who's going to ask us to the prom."  
  
"What did you need?" Rachel asked plainly. She couldn't ignore him when he was in her room. She'd been very grateful that she wasn't on his squad – or even more so, Emma Frost's.  
  
"Kitty, can you...?"  
  
Shadowcat looked to Rachel, and following a nod, stood. "Sure thing." Kitty disappeared through the wall behind her.  
  
"Rachel, I know things are... difficult."  
  
"Things were difficult a few years ago," Rachel said without emotion, "now things are just... complicated." Grey stood, walking to the man she once knew as father. "I don't expect you to live your life around me.  
  
I'm not even your real daughter. These are the issues I had to deal with a long time ago... and I have. I'm not from this timeline, Cyclops – both my mother and my father died a long time ago, and somewhere else."  
  
Rachel bit her lip. She was speaking the truth – there was no doubt about it. She was from an alternate earth ... and the man before her was not her father, not anymore than Jean Grey was actually her mother.  
  
But Jean had accepted her – loved her. She wasn't sure that Scott hadn't... but she'd always been able to cling to the fact that there was a Scott and Jean Grey-Summers on the earth she'd landed upon... and they were very much in love.  
  
Now?  
  
Now she had Scott Summers and Emma Frost, dancing upon the grave of Jean Grey, the mother she'd lost twice now.  
  
Cyclops winced beneath his visor, placing his hand upon his temple. "That isn't true, Rachel. I _do_ care for you, just as Jean did... and that's a very bold – and very _horrible_ – thought."  
  
Rachel hadn't realized she'd sent the image of Emma and Scott at Jean's gravesite to him. She had no choice but to stand her ground. "It's late."  
  
"I... you're right. I just wanted you to know that it's nice to have you here – back with the X-Men. It's where you belong."  
  
"Thank you."

* * *

Cyclops closed the door behind him, falling back upon it with a sigh.

* * *

Ororo Munroe closed the refrigerator door to find Emma Frost standing behind it to her left. She simply turned, walking to the breakfast table just as she'd planned.  
  
"Good morning, Ororo."  
  
"Storm," the weather goddess said plainly, sipping her tea.  
  
"You know," Emma said with a sadistic smile on her face, "do you like my robe?"  
  
Munroe ignored her. "Of course you do, darling. It must be a change – I mean, I was just throwing out some of the most horrid looking things... Scott doesn't know... it's surprising what a pack rat that man can be."  
  
Storm continued to ignore her.  
  
"Actually, you might find some of it appealing... a pink robe with purple trim – 'Love, Ororo' written on the inside... I wasn't a fan. It's in the trash outside. I believe you're used to rooting through garbage? Picking locks and such? It's a shame you could never really figure out how to pick the lock into that robot Forge's heart."  
  
A sick grin flashed on her face.  
  
Storm slammed her fists onto the table as she stood, turning to Emma. Lightning flared from her eyes. Emma flew back into the counter as Storm stepped forward, bringing the winds with her. Cups, papers, and anything else that had been randomly placed in the kitchen flew to the floor – shattering and scattering everywhere.  
  
"You are a very – _very_ sad creature."  
  
Frost's eyes narrowed as she pulled herself up with her telekinesis against the winds. She stood before Storm, in diamond form — the two women glaring at one another, barely an inch apart.  
  
Just in time for Paige Guthrie and Jubilation Lee to walk in.  
  
"So what's for..." Jubilee stopped short, "breakfast?"  
  
"Ms. Frost?" Paige Guthrie, the mutant known as Husk, asked. "What are you doing?"  
  
Jubilee moved to Storm, pulling her away from Frost; Husk doing the same with Emma.  
  
"_Lucky the children were here to save you_," Emma flashed as she lowered her diamond form.  
  
"_It is unfortunate they had to see your true colors once more, Emma – I wonder, were you as 'cautious' when leading them in Generation X? Or is that why poor Everett had to die_?"  
  
Emma pushed Paige to the side, the younger mutant catching herself on the ground. She dove, landing upon Storm, the two women falling to the floor. Jubilee was pushed aside as well, stumbling up next to Paige in time to watch two of their mentors at each other's necks.  
  
"What do we do, Paige??"  
  
"We stop this," Husk replied, pulling a layer of flesh from her body to reveal a stone form.  
  
Blood flew from Storm's face as Frost's diamond-hard fist connected with it. Emma concentrated hard, pushing Ororo into the astral plane.

* * *

"Rachel, wake up! What's wrong?!"  
  
The "newly-minted" Marvel Girl flew up from her bed.  
  
"Something's happening." 


	6. Deception

* * *

**And Then There Were Four**

**Chapter Six: Deception**

**_Thank you for your support -- you keep me writing!

* * *

_**

Ororo Munroe stood before Emma Frost, her eyes a solid white – in return, Frost's piercing blue eyes stared right back.

"If you believe I have no training against telepathic attacks," Storm's voice beckoned, "then you are sadly mistaken."

"And if you believe that your mediocre psychic barriers are a match for my telepathy," Emma countered, "than so are you."

A lightning bolt fell from the "sky" as the two women saw it, The White Queen dodging it with ease. "This is my doing, Storm – _I _brought you here. Remember that!"

Storm fell to the ground as the scene around the two women – previously black – morphed into that of Emma's office. Ororo pulled herself up in time to watch Frost take a seat behind her desk. "What are you playing at...?"

"I don't want to fight you," Emma sighed. "I want to talk to you."

Though not visible here, Storm could feel her pounding lip. She knew Emma had drawn first blood. "You have a funny way of showing it."

"I won't deny that I have a bit of a... temper," Emma began, "and perhaps an evil side."

'One, as an X-Man, I have seen many times, Frost."

Emma simply nodded regretfully before continuing. "Oro—Storm, I have a tendency to overreact when it comes to my students. You had **no right **to bring Everett into this."

"Your track record aside," Munroe challenged, but stopped herself. Frost was right. She shouldn't have mentioned Everett – the poor boy's death had been a terrible time in the life of Emma Frost... especially considering all of the other students she had watched die – even recently. It had been a low blow. Composing herself as she sat down in the other chair, Storm spoke once more. "You're right. But you have no right to parade around, begging for attack – disgracing Jean's memory."

"This may be hard to believe, but I _love_—"

"Scott aside," Storm interrupted. "Not only did you mention Forge – which, by the heavens, is _long_ behind me... but your 'greeting' this morning was a direct attack on my love for Jean."

Emma hesitated this time. "Do you know—"

* * *

"—what it's like to wake up from these nightmares?" Rachel asked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "My God, Kitty. I hate this."

Shadowcat put her arm around her friend, pulling her close. "Did it have anything to do with meeting Cyclops last night?"

"I don't know," Rachel sighed. "I just felt such a ... burst. A burst of telepathic energy that jolted me awake... right before Jean – before _I_ – said..."

* * *

"It's so hard to look at the man you love and know he's thinking of another.

"To _feel_ that he's thinking of another. One emotion that is harder to shut out... harder than any other... is that of love." Emma's lip curled. "I can't help but know – blessed telepathy – that he's thinking about her."

Munroe sat, puzzled. Emma Frost certainly worked in odd ways. Just a few minutes ago, the two women were fighting... and now, Ororo had been drafted into becoming her counselor. The long-time X-Man found herself doing her best to shield her thoughts—her thoughts of disgust: why shouldn't Scott think of Jean? And also thoughts of sorrow. She almost felt sorry for Emma.

"I know this must be terribly awkward for you, Storm." Frost sighed.

(Remember—_almost_ felt sorry.) "Emma – when I left the X-Men, a squad behind me, to obtain Destiny's diaries... Jean asked one thing of me."

Ororo paused, remembering her dear friend's face. "She asked me never to forget her, though she knew I couldn't.

"In another place – in another circumstance – the two of us could have been friends. But I warn you," Storm stood, "I have been the best friend of Scott Summers' significant other once before. I shall not do it again – and if this is some sort of attempt..."

Emma's pride sunk. "Don't flatter yourself, darling." The Headmistress stood as well. "You lead one of _my_ squads – and I believe you to be a very competent leader. I think it foolish to continue on such as we were – both my pride and temper placed aside. If Logan and Scott want to carry on like children, _fine_, but I wish quite differently for us—because, as always, my primary thoughts are of the children. They need to be led by _adults_."

"For the children, I agree," Storm said. "But I wonder..."

Emma arched an eyebrow.

"If given the _choice_, how many would see you in charge before me? Don't throw your 'weight' around at me, Emma. Mine is larger. I'll give you my respect, but you don't have my allegiance."

Emma Frost and Ororo Munroe's eyes flashed open simultaneously, the two women immediately pulling themselves up from the kitchen floor. They were met by Paige Guthrie and Jubilation Lee, Husk and Jubilee respectively.

"What were you going to do, dear?" Emma asked Paige, noting the hard exterior of her skin. "Did I teach you nothing in our time together? Were you going to _beat_ _me_ from the astral plane?"

* * *

Bobby Drake strolled into the Danger Room, Kurt Wagner behind him. "It seems as if the two of us are scheduled to train together, ja?"

"Well, we're both here," Iceman muttered. "Think you can keep up, Wagner?"

Nightcrawler raised an eyebrow. "Do _you_? Computer – begin sequence 'Frozen Port' in three, two, one..."

The room around them shifted into a graveyard – a familiarly recent tombstone in plain sight. Bobby's eyes scanned **SHE WILL RISE AGAIN** before he really questioned his fellow X-Man.

"We are all having a hard time, Bobby," Kurt said as he walked to his friend. "It is outside of our nature not to."

"Kur--? What? What is this? What are you doing?"

"I want you to un-ice yourself."

"That isn't funny, Nightcrawler. You know that I can't. _Everyone_ knows that I can't."

Kurt nodded. "You've made sure of it. I wonder, though – would Jean be able to help you? Would you let her?"

The thought of a telepath inside of Robert Drake's head was less than intriguing... one of the last notable times, Emma Frost had been inside of his head... and it wasn't an enjoyable stay.

"I don't understand where you're going with this, Nightcrawler – but I don't like it. I don't know why we're here – or why you're bringing up Jean – but I'm leaving."

"No, Bobby... no – you are not.

"Listen to me, mein freund. There is nothing wrong with you – nothing. Countless tests have shown this."

"Nightcrawler."

"Bobby, please—"

"Computer, override sequence... Robert Drake, Iceman, 005."

The Danger Room shut itself down at the code of the original X-Man, Nightcrawler watching his comrade make his exit.

Narrowing his eyes, he teleported after him. He and Bobby had never been very close – but the two had always respected one another. And Kurt knew when one of his friends was hurting... and bringing much of the pain upon themselves.

In a cloud of brimstone, Kurt appeared before Iceman with a dark look upon his face. "You will not listen to anyone else, Bobby – but you will listen to me. You're crying out for attention as if you are still a child. Having felt much pain and insecurity as of late... with Lorna's return, with Havok's leadership, ja? Much that you have known is no longer the case in your life.

This situation with Annie is no doubt on your mind, as if you can change it. Professor Xavier has, in your words, 'abandoned' the X-Men... Jean is gone..."

"Kurt. I'm going to ask you once.

Please—will you leave this alone?"

Nightcrawler stared into the eyes of the X-Man—and after a moment, nodded.

* * *

As Iceman turned the corner, he sighed—falling against the wall behind him and sliding to the floor.

The hair that fell in his face wasn't ice.

* * *

The former villain known as Juggernaut narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the wooded area before him. "Get ahold a'yerself, Marko... Tom ain't here and he ain't gonna show his ugly head around this place. There's just no way."

Cain Marko turned around, heading back towards the grounds – though he stopped short, his eyes wide. He tapped the small X on his belt buckle.

"Uhh, Alex...?"

"...Juggernaut? Cain, what're you doing?"

The humongous X-Man's armor shone under the large orange moon.

"We have a situation, Havok..."

Cain looked once more to the empty grave before him.

"A huge one."


	7. Ashes to Ashes

* * *

**And Then There Were Four**

**Chapter Seven: Ashes to Ashes******

* * *

Scott Summers stood next to his younger brother Alex, Ororo Munroe to his left. The clock on the Headmaster's desk read 4:57A, and no one was happy about being up so early.

Especially under the circumstances upon which brought them here.

"Juggernaut was outside, why?"

"I don't know, Scott," Alex—one of the team's leaders, though then known as Havok, answered. "I don't think it matters, either."

"It matters."

Ororo Munroe, Storm and leader of the X.S.E., surveyed the two men. There was a level of tension—and the weather goddess sensed a feud that had been left unresolved was beginning to resurface.

"No one questions Logan when he's out surveying the grounds at all hours. At least not anymore. So again—I don't think it matters."

"Havok," Cyclops took a deep tone, "I'm telling you that it matters."

"And I'm telling you that it doesn't. We need to get to the bottom of this—not sit around here arguing about the validity of Cain Marko's intentions as an X-Man." Havok was stern; assertive—but he wasn't stepping on Scott's toes. He'd definitely grown up over the years, Ororo thought to herself.

Cyclops, however, was reckless and defensive—though understandably so, Munroe had to remind herself. She was having a hard time remaining calm herself—Cain Marko, Juggernaut, had just found the grave of Jean Grey, her best friend, to be empty.

"Scott—Alex is right," she stopped the argument. The two men shifted to Storm, giving her their attention.

"Ororo..."

"Scott, he's _right_. I've seen Cain in action—he's no less of an X-Man than you or I. Things change—people change. Or do I need to bring Emma into the discussion?"

"I've already invited myself," Emma Frost's voice called as the door closed behind her. "Apparently I _have_ to." The former White Queen shot a look of disgust in Cyclops' direction.

"Emma, this meeting was called to order at the last second—it was very impromptu."

"Save it for another time, Scott. As Headmistress, I'm here—and I expect to be informed right away."

"You don't have to listen to her," Havok challenged. He'd never seen his older brother cower... and he didn't like it.

"No, perhaps not," Frost hissed, "but _you_ do. Now stand down and tell me what's going on."

* * *

"I don't know what's happening," Rachel Grey stood, disoriented. The light had just been turned on, so Kitty Pryde winced as she watched her roommate stumble. She soon stood to steady her.

"Ray... you need to sit down..."

"I can't, Kitty—I can't..."

"Ray? Rachel, please... you have to calm down..."

"I didn't tell you what I said, Kitty..."

"Rachel, please... what are you talking about? Sit down and we can talk about it..." Kitty had rarely seen her friend speak so blindly. It didn't matter that it was five in the morning.

"Kitty," tears formed in Grey's eyes, "I'm so sorry."

"Rachel...?"

"I turn to Scott and I say...

"...oh God... I can't stop it... Kitty, oh... Kitty... oh God, Kitty..."

Tears poured from her face as fire erupted around Rachel Grey, now known as Marvel Girl, the entire room bursting into flame.

* * *

"Oh my _God_," Emma Frost stopped short, her hand to her head. She fell limp to the ground, Cyclops scrambling to catch her.

"Scott, what's going on?" Storm asked—seconds later, the windows in Summers' office shattering. Shards flew through the room, showering into the four X-Men.

"Stay DOWN!" Cyclops shouted, hovering over Emma while trying to survey the damage.

Orange light flooded into the large office, Havok stumbling up against it. "It can't be..."

Ororo Munroe could only mouth Jean's name as she stood, the sheer force of wind slamming into she and her friends. Heat poured into the office as the orange light was revealed to be solid flame.

Kitty Pryde ran through the door behind Storm and Havok. "Grab Alex!"

Storm reacted instantly, leeching onto her companion's arm in time for Kitty to hit the floor in solid form. With one arm she grabbed Storm's ankle, and with the other Cyclops' wrist.

The four X-Men fell through the floor as Scott's office met the beginning of its descent into ash.


	8. Dust to Dust

* * *

**And Then There Were Four**

**Chapter Eight: Dust to Dust**

_(Thanks for the reviews -- as always, they help!)_

* * *

"I've already activated the mansion's security protocols—the dormitories have been sealed off. The children are safe." Hank McCoy pulled Shadowcat and Storm to their feet as he informed them of his actions.

Cyclops was silent as he moved Emma's limp body to an observation table. Hank broke the silence once more. "I have to admit that you five gave me quite a scare falling through into my lab like that."

"We didn't know you'd be up," Kitty mumbled.

"Kitten," Storm said calmly, "I had no idea you were capable of such a miraculous... Kitty, you phased all five of us through the room. Alex through my own touch, Emma through Scott's... since when can you do that?"

"Since when can Warren heal? Or Emma turn into a diamond?"

"Very well put," Hank added in as he helped Scott place Frost correctly on the table. "And since when can I be found on the cover of Beauty and the Beast?" Hank winced at his own joke.

Storm nodded in response, surveying the room. "I don't know what's going on, Henry—but the walls of your laboratory seem to be safe."

"Only the finest Shi'Ar technology, as always. I'm afraid they felt that they owed it to us after Cassandra Nova illustrated her attack through them."

Scott winced at the name.

Havok busted in. "In case you've all forgotten, we nearly died up there – and Lord only knows how the rest of the X-Men stand! We have to get out there and find out what's going on!"

"_What's going on_, Havok?" Shadowcat turned. "We were nearly killed by the _Phoenix_ _force_!"

"This can't be happening," he said a bit more coolly. "Whether Jean's grave is empty or not, this just can't be happening..."

"Jean's grave is empty?" Kitty asked, turning to Scott.

Cyclops nodded. "We need a plan."

* * *

"Kurt, head to the dorms – make sure everything's safe an' tidy over there."

Nightcrawler nodded as he simultaneously disappeared with a BAMF! – Wolverine turning to Polaris. "Lorna, you head up after him – someone with your talents can come in useful if things are collapsin'. There's a lot of metal in this place."

"And to think you've never been leader," Lorna Dane, the green-haired X-Man smirked. _"I hope Alex is okay,"_ she thought as she ascended into the air after Nightcrawler.

Logan winced. The alarms, which sounded the moment Hank had activated the main security protocols, were slightly more than piercing—and it hadn't been the first time an advanced sense of hearing had come back to haunt him. "Pull it together, Bub," he mumbled to himself.

Wolverine moved through the halls, now a glowing red to match the flashing lights on the walls, with ease. Even with the Institute's new design, he knew this place... and he had a mission.

If his suspicions were right, there was trouble... and his suspicions were usually well-founded.

* * *

"Please believe me. I haven't forgotten all that the Friends of Humanity has done for me."

"...Annie?"

The nurse turned, shocked. "I have to go," she said as she hung up her phone and turned to Northstar. "Jean Paul..."

"Annie, I don't want to think about what I just heard – the school is under attack, I came to get you to safety..."

"And so did I," Iceman said, stepping in behind him. "We can deal with what you just said later."

* * *

Wolverine stopped short at the sight before him—his eyes narrow, his heart beating much faster than normal.

"Jean."

* * *

Hank moved to a nearby monitor, turning it on from a computer panel below it. "Cameras on the north side appear to be out," he said more to himself, "east and west are nearly in the same condition... but look here."

Cyclops and Storm moved to Hank, the sight on the monitor sending chills through their spine. "I wanted to believe it wasn't true."

"We all did, Cyclops," Storm said in a hushed tone.

"We truly are dealing with the Phoenix force, then," Beast said—and then at once, "Kitty—where is Rachel?"

Shadowcat turned. "Gone."

* * *

A cloud of pink and a BAMF! later, Kurt Wagner appeared next to the winged Josh Guthrie, his older sister Paige—known as the X-Man Husk, and Jubilation Lee, Jubilee. "I see that the dormitories have been sealed."

"Looks that way, Kurt... all of the exits, including windows, are covered in the metal our security systems use. Sam's in the east side of the dorms with Bishop... they're trying to keep the children calm. Speaking of which—Josh, you shouldn't be here."

Josh rolled his eyes as Jubilee spoke up. "And believe me; Bishop isn't too happy about being locked up in here."

Nightcrawler grinned slightly as he tapped the X on his belt buckle. "Lorna, the dormitories are safe and fully-secured."

"Good," the X-Man replied. "Maybe you should stay there—you're one of the few of us who can get through without lowering the security protocols and endangering the children. We'll call you if you're needed."

"And if you don't call?"

"Worry about that if it happens. Polaris out."

Lorna flew through the air, surveying the grounds below her. The mansion's east side, which consisted mostly of the dormitories, had been shut off completely... and the shine of the Shi'Ar's protection was bright against the orange sky which surrounded the grounds.

It was eerie, Lorna thought, just how bright the place had become at the attack of what she feared was the Phoenix... but it was even eerier that, despite the glow or orange, she had no real idea where the threat was based.

Polaris turned the corner, her eyes wide as flame surrounded her entire body. She'd found the Phoenix.

* * *

"We need to find adequate cover," Iceman said as he led Northstar and Annie through a hall which connected the east side to the west. They'd tried going upstairs from the first level in the east side—but found it to be shut off. "Hank, Warren, or Scott activated security—which means they're not on the east side. We need to get to them."

"How can you be sure?"

"I've been an X-Man since the only hair Hank had was a five o'clock shadow and 'Slim' had a crush on Jean," Bobby replied. "I know how this works, Northstar."

The former Alpha Flight member rolled his eyes. "We don't even have any real indication as to what's going on—I don't think it a wise decision to be in these halls... look at all of the open windows."

Just as he said it, Jean Paul had wished he hadn't. The tall hallways were lined with windows to their right—and the burning body of Lorna Dane flew through one of them a few feet in front of the group.

Bobby's eyes grew wide. "Lorna?!"

"Oh God!" Annie shrieked as she ran forward.

* * *

Emma Frost blinked rapidly as she stumbled about in darkness. Her hand at her head, she moaned... having no real idea as to what had happened to her.

Concentrating hard, the "room" she was in lit up—but she found it to be metallic and empty, as if she were in the barren Danger Room. Frost froze after a moment, the realization hitting her at the same time she heard –

"**Emma**."

"...Jean..."


	9. Emergence

**

* * *

**

And Then There Were Four

_**Chapter Nine: Emergence**_

_(full-time college work do not time... r/r, it keeps me finding it!)_

**

* * *

**

Emma Frost's heart hardened along with her exterior. She concentrated hard, vying with all of her might to disguise herfear, having shown too much of it to her adversary in the past.

Her crystal eyes shifted, meeting the green pair before her. "Don't you ever stay dead? It's a joke, really."

The redhead smiled, raising her left hand to eye level. Frost nearly watched—blocking her panic with rage; her anxiety with hate. With a sickening grin, Jean Grey took a step forward, Emma a step back… and as she snapped her fingers, the vast blackness around the two women slowly shifted.

_Egypt_.

Jean Grey, a battered and broken Cyclops in her arms, caressed her husband's shirtless chest… Nathan Summers stood behind them, ripping his father's visor from his costume's chest piece and throwing it to Jean.

Placing it over his eyes, she whimpered as she channeled her strength. Apocalypse was dead—her dear love was alive. "Shh… It's over, Scott. It's all over… I have you."

A flash of white – snow falling in every direction…

_Anchorage, Alaska_.

A small log cabin Emma could only call quaint—littered with pictures of family, friends. No costumes, no visors, no duties.

Husband and wife – nestled together beside a fire in matching sweaters and gripping hot tea. "If we go back," Jean whispers, "then I don't know if we'll ever be able to come back to this."

A comforting smile, a delicate kiss—the woman found it enough comfort as tokens of forever.

Bells… everywhere, bells…

A wedding.

The wedding of Jean Grey and Scott Summers – years ago, countless X-Men present; some no longer living, others no longer associated with the X. All drawn together in celebration.

"I do."

"That's _enough_. What in the hell are you playing at? If you wish to kill me, you're welcome to try – but let's get to it!"

Fire circled around the former White Queen, Jean Grey nowhere to be found. Darkness covered the rest of the area once more – the only light the fire. Through the flame walked a figure…

* * *

"…my God," Northstar murmured as he looked over the darkened body of Lorna Dane. "Can't you reach Beast, Iceman?"

"Don't you think I've been trying?"

"**Boys**," Annie barked, "now is _not _the time. These are very serious burns… I don't have the supplies I need..."

The nurse bit her lip, carefully prying a piece of shattered window from Lorna's shoulder. "A few inches over," she said to herself, surveying the damage. She and Lorna hadn't always seen eye to eye—an understatement in the least—but she was a physician first and foremost. Ripping a piece of her shirt, she did her best to cover the wound.

"The medical lab is certainly off limits now," Jean Paul stated the obvious.

"Which is why we need to head west," Bobby said firmly. "Hopefully Hank's lab is still in good standing."

Annie helped Lorna into Northstar's arms, arranging her as safely as possible. "Get her there, Jean Paul."

"We'll do our best to keep up," Iceman said, grabbing Annie and creating an ice slide as the Canadian X-Man sped into the distance.

* * *

"She was completely disoriented," Kitty Pryde began, her eyes darting across Cyclops, Beast, Storm, and Havok. "I woke up wishing she'd just turn the light back off and found her absolutely hysterical… she'd had a dream…"

"A dream?"

"Something, Ororo," Kitty answered. Her thoughts jumped through the events of the night as she tried to stay calm. "About you, Cyclops."

Scott looked up from his observation of Emma, his interest already perked. "What about me?"

"She'd been having these dreams about Jean… about Jean dying." Kitty hesitated, doing her best to remember what Rachel had told her. "She said it was like she was there… she felt her pain, her everything… and she said – I think – 'Scott... my best friend.. All I've—"

"—ever done is die on you," Cyclops finished slowly, horror dripping from his face.

"Scott?" Storm turned, looking at her longtime friend.

"…it was the last thing Jean said to me," he struggled to say, fighting back tears. He had to be strong for his team.

Kitty continued after a moment, "That wasn't it, though. She said she was suddenly somewhere else – and she smiles… and tells you something."

"Tells me something?" Scott stood, leaving Emma's hand to fall limp to the side of the table. "Tell me what?"

"...I don't know," Kitty admitted. "Ray was about to tell me when you knocked on our door that night. But when she woke up tonight – in all of the confusion, she seemed terrified… she kept saying that she hadn't told me what she'd said.—what Jean had said…

…and then she told me she was sorry."

"Sorry, Kitten?"

Kitty's hand went to her face, wiping back tears. "She literally burst into flame with our room, Ororo… she said she couldn't stop it, I don't know what she meant… I haven't seen her like that in ages, even through everything that happened with Elias Bogan."

Storm's mind thought back to an attack on her team by Bogan recently – before they'd returned to the Institute. Rachel had been held hostage, her life thrown into captivity for far from the first time. She was nearly in shambles.

A sudden thud alerted the X-Men that they were no longer alone.

* * *

"Sitting ducks," Lucas Bishop moaned, running his hand across his large gun. He pulled a pair of red sunglasses to his face—the primary communicator for those who'd called themselves the 'X-Treme X-Men' in the recent past. "Sage? Sage, you there?"

Bishop sighed; nothing.

"I haven't heard from Sage in some time, Herr Bishop," Kurt said as he gracefully walked to his friend. "You are worried about her."

"She can take care of herself – she's proven that several times... but I always thought Psylocke could, too."

"We are all human," Kurt nodded solemnly. "Super computer mind or not… and if we are truly dealing with the Phoenix Force, we're truly dealing with a force to be reckoned with."

Bishop winced. "You think Jean's alive, then?"

Kurt's face twisted in a bizarre display of horrifying and painful memories. "I've been through this before… I've been asked _that_ _question_ before – and each time, the answer is harder to give.

Jean was – _is_? – a strong woman. Stronger than most I have ever known. But I wonder, if it is Jean, if there is anything left of her to truly be alive. Imagine, Bishop – and look around you, it shouldn't be hard… how can one truly live when blindly killing everything they once held dear?"

Bishop jumped from his makeshift seat, Kurt instinctively following suit. "Nightcrawler – get out of here!"

"Glad to see you, Jean Paul," Beast said as he carefully took Lorna and placed her beside Emma on an observation table. Alex stood next to him, looking down at his former love with a pained expression.

Jean Paul nodded with a smile, his eyes turning to Havok. "Annie is on her way, you know."

Hank cleared his throat, all eyes turning towards him. "I'm not a fan of awkward silences," he said, a small grin on his face.

"There are times you shouldn't make jokes," Iceman said upon entering the room, Annie in tow. Annie ran to Alex, falling into his arms.

"Back in the day, Robert," Hank quipped, "you'd be the last to say such a thing."

"Back in the day, Hank, we weren't dealing with what we're dealing with now."

"Not entirely tru—"

The sound of a large explosion rang through their ears, the room shuddering in its wake.

"What was that?!" Cyclops demanded, turning towards Hank.

McCoy was already on it, flipping on the screens revealing what was left of the school.

"Oh dear…"

"Henry…?" Storm's eyes widened.

"…the dormitories…"

* * *

Brick – glass – bodies.

Children's bodies.

Everywhere.

Kurt Wagner pushed himself from the ground, crawling towards a young woman in what was left of a yellow trench coat. He winced, pushing debris from her upper half. "Jub… ilation?"

"Dead, Nightcrawler. You know, I'm rather impressed you survived."

Wagner struggled to turn, looking up at the redhaired woman before him. "How .. could you do this…?"

From afar, a horrified X-Man watched – had he only leapt into action a few moments before… if he'd only known…

There wasn't time for any more of that, Logan gathered, diving from above and tackling his love to the ground.

A laugh erupted from her lips as she gripped his wrists, claws extended. "Goodbye, Kurt," she snarled, slamming Wolverine's claws into the X-Man.

Popping his Adamantium-laced wrist from its socket, she turned Wolverine's claws in his direction.

"Goodbye, Logan."

* * *

A gasp resounded in an otherwise silent room, the woman known as Callisto jumping at the intrusion. "Chuck?"

Eyes now open, Charles Xavier wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I have to get to Westchester."


	10. Silence

**

* * *

**

And Then There Were Four Conclusion (1 of 2)

**_Chapter Ten: Silence_**

_We're winding down -- hold your breath, keep reviewing; you keep it coming!__**

* * *

**_

No one spoke.

Through his red tint, Cyclops only gazed at the screen in front of him – the screen he'd just instructed Hank McCoy to turn on, giving them some sort of idea as to what had just happened.

Instinctively, he knew. He usually did, having led the X-Men for so long. That sickening shudder… that horrible explosion…

But he didn't really expect to see the newly rebuilt Institute crippled the way he did… or if he did, he wouldn't let himself think it for even a second. He couldn't.

He was stunned – not something that happens very often.

From just outside of the school grounds, a tiny camera captured the chaos… captured the pain, the suffering, the sudden realization…

The children were dead.

Scott Summers clenched his teeth, Ororo Munroe wrapped her arms around Kitty Pryde, Robert Drake fell back against the wall, Alex Summers held his lover tight as she realized her son was dead, and Hank McCoy finally turned the monitor off.

No one spoke.

* * *

Logan shuddered as he retracted his claws – blood spurting from his neck as he did so. His other hand immediately covered the wounds, even as they began to heal, and he began to stagger upward amidst rubble.

His eyes darted to Kurt Wagner's lifeless body and he tried to speak – crimson bubbles his only song.

"Rrrr," he growled, finally picking himself up. Fire sprang up in patches all around him – anything that could burn lit the area – from chunks of desk to what remained of some of the students.

Walking forward, the disoriented soldier soon met the ground again – tripping over one of the countless piles of brick, ash, fire, and body. Pulling himself up yet again, his eyes met Lucas Bishop's. Wolverine pulled a hand from his throat, now more or less healed, and shut the man's eyes. It was the best he could do for him right now.

"Rrrr," he choked out – his throat only mostly healed. "Rrrr---"

* * *

"—achel Grey, _what in the hell are you doing_?!"

"A little bit of cleaning, Emma," Rachel spoke, standing before her nemesis in a ring of fire. "It's time I took care of _you_."

Frost winced, her left hand at her temple. "My God… what have you done to the children?"

"It's a small price."

Diamond-hard, Frost pounced—slamming into Grey and falling hard on the ground which suddenly appeared from nowhere as they left the fire.

**SHE WILL RISE AGAIN**

…was eye level with the former White Queen, a deep hole beside her.

"So Jean has in fact _not _returned, I see," Emma barked as she made her way to her feet. "Her amateur daughter from another timeline has simply attempted to wield the cosmic entity which inherently sent the woman to her _grave_."

Rachel's eyes burnt with delight, fire erupting from both of them. "You're so naïve, Frost."

The former Phoenix leapt into Emma, tackling her into the six-foot hole. Her telekinetically-charged fist repeatedly slammed into Frost's jaw, a silvery blood swinging from her lips.

Emma poised to strike, but found her fist slicing through air.

She was gone.

Emma stood, her white heels atop a wooden casket. "Why?"

"In one way or another… why can't you just stay—"

* * *

"Dead," Henry McCoy said solemnly, his furry, large blue hand running over Lorna Dane's eyes.

"Everyone's dead," Annie choked, violently shaking in Alex's arms as the words left her mouth.

"Why are we still in here?" Iceman growled, his eyes focused on Cyclops.

The X-Man said nothing.

"_Scott_."

Nothing.

"**Scott Summers, what in the hell are we doing in here**?"

"…where's Emma?"

"_What_?" Iceman asked, turning to find the observation table which had held Frost empty.

* * *

"I hate you, you know?" Emma Frost said aloud. "I hate you for everything you've ever done to me – I hate you for everything you've ever stolen from me… I hate you for what's happened here tonight…"

Frost winced. She could practically feel the heat from the Institute, and she couldn't avoid the illumination– the graveyard just outside of the main grounds.

"And I hate you for saving my life."

Emma's thoughts turned backward – she had been, in a sense, murdered. Though here she stood, heels atop Jean Grey's grave… resisting all temptations to dance. She'd been shattered while in her diamond form courtesy of a specialized bullet, pieced together again by Beast, and resurrected by the power of the Phoenix – put together again by _Jean_ _Grey_.

"I've always known, so don't think you're terribly smart… pieces of you, of your nature, your will… inside of me – from that very moment you pulled me back from oblivion. That's how you did it… and you let me know, didn't you? You let me know so that I'd always wonder…"

Emma bit her lip. "Wonder if _that's_ why he was with me. Pieces of Jean bloody Grey."

The ex-White Queen pulled herself from the grave, wincing from various pains courtesy of her recent battles. She sat, legs crossed and dangling over the miniature cliff. She closed her eyes, calling upon every ounce of training she'd ever had – turning hatred into fuel, passion into power.

A tear fell from her face. It was time. "Come back, Jean."

"Come back."

* * *

"She just disappeared? We have to find her."

"Oh, _now _you want to go out there? Forget you, Summers – you **disgust** me."

"Back off, Drake," Alex interjected.

"There's more to this than meets your narrow-minded eye, Iceman," Cyclops charged forward. "So you'd better listen to my brother."

"Listen to your _brother_? Scott—"

"Robert… please," Hank spoke up, stepping between the two men. "We don't have the time or resources for this. You very well may be looking at the only X-Men left standing… and we have quite the battle before us."

* * *

Rachel Grey grinned as she stared at the grass below her – with a thought, she ripped the grass from the ground… Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Storm, Havok, Shadowcat, and Annie meeting her twisted face. "You have no idea."

"…Ray?" Shadowcat gasped. "Rachel, you can't… what are you…"

"Oh, give me a break," Grey rolled her eyes, fire lunging through the hole and into the laboratory.

The X-Men scattered, diving left and right – various experiments exploding and giving way to more fire. Iceman created an ice slide, moving upward rapidly at the Phoenix.

Ice slammed into Grey from all directions, Drake pulling from what was left of the air's moisture. She fell to the ground, Storm lifting Cyclops, Shadowcat and Havok from the lab below to the fiery front lawn of the Institute, Hank leaping up behind them.

"Beast, stay on your toes; Havok, get ready to strike in unison with me – just do your best and for what it's worth, fire everything you have; Storm – strike with every bit of energy Mother Nature can spare – Bobby's ice won't hold her lon—"

Cyclops and the other X-Men flew back as Drake's temporary containment shattered, fire engulfing the immediate area. Grey lunged forward, tackling an already stifled Ororo Munroe and pinning her to the ground, her hands wrapped around her throat.

Storm grimaced, mustering her strength as Rachel began to talk. "Feeling a little—_mmmph_!"

Munroe's eyes followed Grey as she flew through the air, a tattered and broken Wolverine having slammed into her only seconds ago. "Logan!"

"No time t'talk, Ro!" Wolverine growled, slamming his claws in Rachel's chest. Grey flew upward, Logan and his claws attached, fire surrounding the two of them.

Wolverine's limp body fell to the ground yet again next to Shadowcat. "Logan?!"

What one might call a wink… had their been the majority of an eyelid… was her only solace as she, along with the other X-Men, watched Rachel ascend nearly out of their sight.

Storm began to fly upward but was pulled backwards, Cyclops having grabbed her wrist. "No. We can't fight her… not like this."

"I know someone who can," a voice called from behind the two X-Leaders.

"Emma?" Scott turned, the eyes beneath his visor growing large at the sight before him.

His heart stopped…

Beside Emma stood **Jean Grey.**


	11. Full Circle Epilogue

**

* * *

**

And Then There Were Four – Conclusion

_**Chapter Eleven: Full Circle**_

_(Thanks for your support!)_

* * *

Emma shut her mind as she stared at the blank expression on Scott's face. Her school was in ruins, her students (it was becoming sickeningly redundant) were gone, and as if it wasn't bad enough that she was standing next to Jean Grey… well, she didn't want to hear his thoughts break her heart. 

As if his face already hadn't.

"Scott…"

Emma winced at Jean's voice before moving forward towards Cyclops—Scott, though he didn't even realize it, walking past Frost to stand in front of his wife.

Ororo Munroe pulled her hand from her face as she stared blankly in unison with several of the other X-Men. She wasn't sure what to think as she looked at her best friend… but found her thoughts wandering as Emma Frost walked past the small, battered group of X-Men to stand by herself.

Her own heart sunk… and as her eyes turned elsewhere, to the equally shocked Henry McCoy, she knew by his eyes that he shared her thoughts.

"I… hate to bust this up," Hank broke the silence—a job, he thought, he should be receiving money for, "but we need to start tracking Rachel at once. We should contact another super-team, and…"

"You're… alive," a stunned Scott Summers blurted out, his first words to the redheaded woman standing before him.

"Déjà vu?" Jean joked, her lip quivering.

Hank uneasily turned away, motioning to the leader of the X.S.E. "Ororo, perhaps you could…"

Storm nodded, rising into the air. The weather goddess focused for a moment, her mind's eye turning to the grounds of the Institute. Moments later, rain began to fall – dousing the unimaginable damage the explosions and fires had caused.

"Scott," Alex spoke, moving towards his brother. "Scott, we have to…"

Cyclops shook his head. "You're right. Storm, nice work. I don't know how much of the Institute is left standing – but I want Logan, once he's recovered, to lead a few of you through the grounds. We're missing far too many X-Men." His thoughts turned to the image of the dormitories. "And… maybe we can find other survivors as well."

Scott finally turned from Jean. "Alex… Hank… I want you to—"

"That won't be necessary, Scott," Jean interrupted, walking to the middle of the group. "Storm…"

The windrider turned, a look of unbelief on her face. "Yes, Jean?"

"I need you to come with me – but the rest of you, stay here. I know where Rachel is – I can feel her. She's very confused… very disoriented. I can handle her."

"No way, Jeannie," Logan spoke for the first time—most of his skin making a triumphant return. "I can't believe I'm talkin' to you right now, but I have t'get over it. There's no way you're just leavin' on a suicide mission so soon, Storm on your side or not."

"Logan," Jean said softly, stepping back. She focused, a grin flashing on her face after a moment. Flame spread all around her, an immense display of power no matter how often one saw it. "I can handle her."

Jean turned to Cyclops, placing her hand on his shoulder. There was nothing either of them could say.

Emma felt her stomach turn as she watched The Phoenix lift off, Storm behind her. She'd jeopardized everything – her thoughts turning back to an early conversation she'd had with Charles Xavier.

"You'd asked me why you would want to stay here, Emma," he'd said. "Why you, after teaching at the Massachusetts Academy, would ever want to teach for this Institute… why you would ever want to become an X-Man."

She'd remained silent, but it didn't matter. She'd shielded her thoughts, but it didn't do any good.

"You're searching, Emma… searching for the right thing to do. The right opportunity to prove whom you _really_ are. There are times, Emma Frost, when we must forget about ourselves… when we must think of only others – of a greater good.

There are times when we must be an X-Man."

Frost, at the first sign of a tear, quickly shifted into diamond form—all emotions gone for the moment. Turning, she looked to her team. "I'm sure she'll be in contact… let's search the grounds."

* * *

Ororo pushed herself to her limit, bending the winds around her in an effort to keep up with Jean. Her thoughts leapt back and forth—and she couldn't help but feel as if she were dreaming. 

"I _wish I could offer you more of an explanation_," Jean called to Ororo telepathically, "_but I don't know that I can._"

"_Jean… I just can't believe you're here_," Ororo replied. "_You're supposed to be dead_."

"_So was Magneto_."

The two smiled. It felt good—dancing across the skies with your best friend, as if there weren't a care in the world.

The image of the skies flashed, disappearing and melting into the small cottage Jean and Scott shared in Anchorage.

"Jean, what's going on?"

"Don't worry, Ororo… I won't let you fly into a plane. I'm telepathically guiding you through the air while I hone in on Rachel. I thought this would give us a chance to catch up."

Munroe was weary… almost frightened. The power she was experiencing was unspeakable… or perhaps it was that Jean's power level hadn't surprised her in quite a long time.

"Ororo… please. Trust me."

Storm smiled. "Of course."

"I wasn't supposed to come back, Ororo… not yet."

"Jean… tell me how this is possible."

Grey hesitated for a moment. "Do you remember when Emma was shot while in her diamond form, Ororo?" Storm nodded, giving room for Jean to continue. "Hank had pieced her back together… and I… the Phoenix… I brought her back to life, Ororo. I _recreated_ someone."

Storm simply looked at her friend. "Ororo… I'd never experienced power on such a scale… it was… indescribable. I didn't even know I could do it… and I didn't know it, but I'd… imprinted… myself on Emma's psyche."

"Jean, you're not saying…"

"Emma brought me back, Ororo. I don't know if it will last… I don't… I don't know anything."

"Oh, Jean," Munroe said softly, running her hand across her dearest friend's face.

"I know they're together," Jean murmured. "It was my doing."

Storm raised an eyebrow—perplexed at the very thought.

"Everything was wrong, Ororo… Scott would've left the X-Men… Hank would have tried to reinstitute everything we'd ever worked for… only he'd fail, and…"

"Jean, what are you talking about?"

"A horrible future that I had no choice but to stop, Ororo. I changed it… changed the entire thing… but it meant that I couldn't return… The Phoenix, Ororo… once it touches you it never leaves."

"Jean… this is too much," she admitted. "You should focus before you become too distracted… you've only just returned, and… we need to find…"

The Phoenix's eyes narrowed. "Need to find…"

* * *

"Rachel." 

Rachel Grey stumbled to her feet from a field several miles from the Institute. She remained silent.

"Rachel, I need you to think for a moment… I need you to relax."

"_You_?"

Grey stammered, trying desperately to call on the flame that she'd grown so close to recently. Nothing happened as she attempted to psychically assault the man before her – she was too weak. She couldn't focus… couldn't feel her powers…

"You're _dead_… killed … my mother…"

Erik Lensherr caught the young woman as she fell into his arms, his thoughts moving from the reversal of her blood flow to Charles Xavier. "_I have her, Charles_," he thought. "_She must not have been as powerful as you'd expected… the mental cloak you'd placed on me worked – and she went down very quickly._"

"_Bring her to the ship, Erik_," Charles Xavier replied.

"_I hope you know what you're doing, old friend_."

* * *

Kitty Pryde intangibly walked through the remnants of the main dormitory, meeting the eager faces of the Beast and Havok. Her face was quite different from their own. 

"Some rooms are surprisingly in tact," Shadowcat said somberly, referring to the large wreckage behind her.

"No one, Kitty?" Alex asked.

"No one's alive, no," she said in almost a whisper. "They're all dead – at least those that I can see."

Much of the dormitories lay scattered across the lawn in heaps, what was left of the X-Men combing every inch of them.

Cyclops and Emma Frost searched together uneasily, walking alongside the debris in hope.

"You should use your telepathy, Emma," Scott said flatly as he looked to his girlfriend, armored up in her diamond form – void of emotions… but also void of her telepathic abilities.

"I'd rather not," she barked.

"Emma…"

"Cyclops."

"What do you want from me?" Cyclops stopped, staring into his own reflection upon her skin.

"I don't want a damned thing," Emma growled, turning away. As she did so, she lowered her form – diamond returning to skin. She sighed, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Emma… I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Scott?"

"It seemed like the right thing to say."

"I brought Jean back, you know."

"…what?"

"We needed her. It's kind of funny… she brought me back to life once – helped guide me back, at least. She'd created some sort of exchange policy so that I could do the same for her, need be."

"Emma – you don't…" He hesitated. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'm _with_ _you_."

Frost shook her head, placing her palm over Scott's heart. "No, Scott."

He started to speak… but as he did so, Emma placed the index finger of her other hand over his lips. "No you're not."

* * *

"Jean… what's going on?" 

"I don't know… I… what are we… doing… can't… concentrate…"

The scene around Jean and Storm changed once more – this time, they found themselves inside of an aircraft.

Storm's eyes immediately darted to the man piloting. "Charles…?"

* * *

"In the events of late," the X-Man known as Northstar said, pulling debris from debris as he worked alongside Iceman, "I…" 

"I know, Jean Claude."

The former Alpha Flight member stopped dead in his tracks – something he rarely did. "Bobby?"

Iceman turned, placing a hand on his teammate's shoulder. "I'm… flattered, I guess. You're a great guy… and a great X-Man, Northstar."

Northstar turned. "…Thank you," he said in a low tone – returning to his work.

* * *

"…Nightcrawler and Bishop have been accounted for," Wolverine grunted as he walked toward Kitty, Alex, and Hank. 

A twinkle shot through Kitty's eyes – but the sudden realization that followed murdered the thought instantly. He'd said accounted for… not that they were alive.

"Logan… how are we ever going to recover?" Pryde began to break down. She was tired of pretending she didn't want to die inside… this was the most horrible thing she'd ever witnessed… and that was saying quite a lot. And it was all because of …

Because of…

"Logan… something's happening."

* * *

"I had hoped you wouldn't witness this," Charles said as he turned to his two former X-Men. Jean and Ororo stood, looking down at their mentor. 

"Charles…"

"Jean, it's… wonderful… to see you," he spoke blindly, avoiding eye contact with his prize pupil.

Grey's eyes darted to the front of the plane. "…Charles, is that…?"

"**Magneto**?" Storm erupted, her eyes scanning the vessel immediately. "Charles, what is going… _Rachel_??"

Rachel Grey, strapped into a seat, lay unconscious.

Jean Grey's eyes went wide. "Charles, you can't…"

* * *

"…**do this**!!" Jean Grey shrieked. 

Scott Summers leapt up beside her, turning to his wife immediately. "Jean, are you… what is it??"

"Did you…"

She paused. Charles… Emma… Xorn… Magneto?

"Jean, is something wrong?"

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Jean looked at her husband with a puzzled look. "I'm… just a dream, Scott.

Just a bad dream."

* * *

_**

* * *

**_

EPILOGUE

* * *

"I thought of a name," Annie smiled at her fiancé, the X-Man known as Havok.

Alex gently rubbed the woman's stomach as he looked into her eyes. "Carter."

* * *

"You doin' okay, Ray?" 

"I'm great, Kitty… just looking through some old pictures, that sort of thing."

"As long as none of those pictures feature any dorky X-Men named Sprite, I think we'll be fine," Rachel Grey's roommate chuckled as she jumped onto the bed with her friend.

Rachel flipped through the pictures, Kitty looking over her shoulder. "Here's the first night we stayed at Braddock Manor!"

"Oh my God!" Kitty giggled, taking the picture from Rachel's hands. "That was insane… I'll never forget trying to find a late night snack with Meggan – and Brian was absolutely insane when Kurt…"

The two looked at one another.

"…Kurt…"

* * *

"You wiped their _minds_, Charles?" 

Xavier hesitated before answering. He sighed, staring deep into Hammer Bay. "I only did what I had to do, Erik."

A fury burned inside Erik Lensherr. "My god, Charles… why not me, too? And _you_, of all people, should know better than to…"

"As far as my X-Men were concerned, _Magneto_, you killed Jean Grey. _You_. Our arch enemy, in so many words… you killed her... and when poor, young Rachel resurrected the Phoenix Force in this timeline, in her own right, she was nearly driven mad…

The loss of so many children… of so much life… it would not have only shattered her, Erik… not only Emma, nor Scott… but it would have forever crippled my X-Men."

"Or crippled _your_ _dream_… Charles, you're no better than—"

"Damnit, Erik! You aren't listening!"

"You erased years of life, Charles! You erased _people_! Your students! Nightcrawler! My own _daughter_! And not just mine – but many children; children to whom their parents will simply _never know_! I'd never known you to be possible of such a thing… of something on such a scale… but even if I had, I'd never even suspect you of ushering in such an atrocity!"

"Aren't you tired, Erik? Tired of the pain? The suffering? Parents aren't mourning their children… Jean doesn't have to deal with Scott's disloyalty… Emma with the loss of her students… Rachel the fact that she is responsible for the death of so many loved ones, just as in her own timeline…"

"Had I known your intent months ago, Charles, I'd have never helped you rebuild that school." Magneto paused…

"Or _did_ I know?"

Charles looked away.

"What have you become, Charles Xavier?"

The founder of the X-Men remained silent for some time after that… the man who he'd rebuilt Genosha with standing behind him.

"…you're right, Erik. My God… you're right."

Xavier fought as hard as he could… but began to weep nonetheless.

Magneto turned. "I'll prep the jet."

**FIN**

_Author's Note: Again, thank you for all of your reviews... hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! What will happen once Charles and Erik reach Westchester? Who knows... (did anyone just smell a sequel?)_


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